Andy Turner on the Sky Blues loss against O's when they enjoyed more than enough possession to win

1 Tony Mowbray has said it himself, defenders can be allowed to make one mistake, possible even given the benefit of two, but when it happens on a regular basis it’s time to act.

There could not be a more crucial time for Reda Johnson to return at either centre-half or left-back in the short term but, long term, if Mowbray stays with the Sky Blues beyond the end of the season he will almost certainly look to rebuild the back four.

In games like this when City enjoyed more than enough possession and chances to score but didn’t, the one thing they had to do was make sure they didn’t concede so they came out with at least a point – and it was all the more galling this time because Orient’s winner came from a goal-kick lumped straight down the middle of the pitch.

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2 Dominic Samuel’s early exit with an ankle injury was a huge blow to City’s chances of getting the all important goal to give them a foothold in the game.

Although his replacement George Thomas did well and was extremely unlucky not to bag his first senior strike when he had a shot cleared off the line, the Sky Blues clearly missed the on-loan Reading striker, particularly during their sustained spell of second half pressure when it looked more a case of when, rather than if, City were going to score.

3 Grant Ward had arguably his best game to date for the Sky Blues, the impressive Tottenham loan signing having quickly established himself in the team in his five games so far.

He’s struck up an excellent partnership with John Fleck in the midfield battleground but against Orient we saw a more attacking side to his game for the first time.

Detailed to take corners – one of which forced the keeper to save when it curled in at the near post – the 20-year-old made a real nuisance of himself in and around the box and was unlucky not to score when he hit the post.

Given his consistent contribution – like Everton’s Matty Pennington at the back – Mowbray would do well to get Ward back on a season-long deal season.

4 The Sky Blues continue to be their own worst enemies at home where they extended their miserable and totally unacceptable record at the Ricoh this season to seven defeats.

There was a vast improvement on their previous showing in the stadium against Doncaster as City dominated Orient for long periods but the longer the game went on the more it had smash-and-grab written all over it as their back-to-basics defensive resolve lapsed to lift the O’s out of the bottom four for the first time since October and pile the pressure on Coventry knowing that defeat at Notts County will be a huge set-back to their survival hopes.

5 City continue to infuriate their fans by prospering against teams pushing for the play-offs – Chesterfield, Fleetwood and Peterborough to name just three in recent weeks – but struggle to pick up points against the also-rans scrapping for their lives.

That fact doesn’t bode well as they head into Monday’s six-pointer at Meadow Lane before entertaining second from bottom Colchester with Crewe and Crawley still to come.